The children feared being the recipients of violence from their parents, the vast majority inflicted by Rose, occasionally by Fred. He aggressively pestered women and girls, whom he objectified as sources of pleasure to be used as he saw fit, and would abruptly approach and fondle them.

I read mainly Mysteries and Thrillers, with over half of my reads being Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) directly from the publisher/author. Despite all of the hell the two created together, the countless sex partners and the sick secrets they kept, Fred loved Rose in his twisted way and couldn’t live without her and still thought himself “a nice man”.

A poor condition book can still make a good reading copy but is generally not collectible unless the item is very scarce.

I’m not going to pretend this is an easy read but I’m glad to say it doesn’t dwell on accounts of the murders themselves, although of course they do feature, rather this is Mae’s account of things she remembers from childhood; Heather and her younger brother Stephen feature largely here because of the first three children of Rose and Fred West were close in age. On 6 December 1972, the couple lured Owens into their vehicle with an apology for their conduct and the offer of a lift home.Fred was arrested, and freely admitted to police he had been molesting young girls since his early teens and asked: "Doesn't everybody do it? Rose, who had begun to engage in prostitution by this time, explained to Owens that she worked as a masseuse when the younger woman enquired about the steady stream of men visiting her. When her body was discovered, a short length of metal tubing was found with her remains, leaving an equal possibility she had been restrained and subjected to a sexual assault prior to her murder. I think that the book depicts the lives of Fred and Rose West perfectly, however, on occasion the author seems biased towards certain subjects within the book,I felt. It captures perfectly what made them tick while still providing readers with enough facts to make sense of their crimes without glorifying or sensationalising them too much.

On 17 October 1970, Rose gave birth to their first child: a daughter they named Heather Ann (speculation remains that Heather may have been sired by Rose's own father).

Shortly after giving birth to her second child, Rose began to work as a prostitute, operating from an upstairs room at their residence and advertising her services in a local contact magazine. It has certainly whet my appetite to read more on this case and see things from different perspectives.

Fred encouraged Rose to seek clients in Gloucester's West Indian community through these advertisements. He was a man devoid of compassion, consumed with sexual lust, a sadistic killer and someone who had opted out of the human race.The facts of the story are so beyond normal it would be easy to slip into believing this was fiction, perhaps more comfortable viewing it that way. I certainly couldn't put it down; and annoyed almost everyone around me by attempting to engage in conversation based on Fred and Rose. Includes exclusive access to all West's police interviews, prison diaries, papers, solicitor interviews - and his private collection of video tapes, as well as all the interviews given by his wife, Rose West.